At the May 23 City Council meeting, the city administrator informed the council that “single family homes do not pay extra for trash pickup because they are not a business and the city views the multi-unit apartments as a business. The landlords own and operate the apartments as a profit-making commercial business, and therefore need to pay the applicable costs.”

I disagree.

As the landlord of a three-unit apartment building for the past 16 years, I assure you that I have not operated my apartments as a profit-making commercial business. In fact, it took 15 years before I reluctantly raised the rent for the first time.

I have a 90-year-old tenant who has lived in my building nearly 30 years on a fixed income. The amount of garbage generated by this tenant in a week would fit in a small plastic shopping bag. My other two apartments are rented by single tenants as well.

I do not know about all the landlords in Lewiston, but I hardly come close to making a profit on my building. The cost of repairs, increase in utilities, taxes, insurance and, most of all, maintaining a nice apartment with affordable rent eats up any profits I might make.

All city residents (homeowners and landlord/tenants) should share the cost of waste removal by paying a small annual fee. Perhaps it is time to consider privatizing waste pickup and allowing residents to decide who will pick up their garbage.

Jerry Aripez, Lewiston